1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to a device for retaining or trussing the hocks of poultry carcasses and more particularly to a retainer comprising two generally C-shaped elements that can engage the hocks of a poultry carcass to retain the thighs in juxtaposition during processing, packaging, shipping and possibly cooking.
2. Prior Art
As is appreciated by those skilled in the art, the processing, packaging and shipping of poultry carcasses can be made easier by creating relative uniformity amongst trussed poultry carcasses. For example, if the hocks of poultry carcasses are protruding from the animal carcass, then the extending limbs can tear the shrink-wrap. Trussing the hocks, thereby holding the legs together close to the body, can help to avoid this problem. Further, it is easier to cook a trussed poultry carcass, especially on a rotisserie, as the legs will be retained against the body and not flop about. Similarly, as the poultry carcasses can be cooked more easily, there is an added benefit of trussing poultry carcasses to consumers, and this can be exploited by advertising by the retailer.
Over the years, many brackets, clamps, retainers, and similar devices have been developed for retaining or trussing the hocks of poultry carcasses during cooking, shipping, and processing. Not surprisingly, the prior art discloses many means for trussing the hocks of poultry carcasses. While the known prior art has advantages for certain situations, there is a constant need for poultry trussing devices that are less expensive to manufacture, are easier to mount on the hocks, hold the hocks more securely, can be mounted automatically if desired, or easier to dismount from the hocks, or combinations of these. A couple of exemplary trussing devices are discussed below.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,112,274 to Volk discloses a snap-on ankle strap poultry trussing device that provides a plastic ankle strap that has a lower portion having an indent that extends upwardly between the exposed hocks of the carcass. The ankle strap is slipped over the exposed hocks, grasps the ankles of the poultry carcass, and holds them together.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,498,201 to Volk discloses a retainer for poultry hocks that is formed as an oblong ring of a thin unitary plastic. The ring has a plurality of prong portions extending inward. The poultry hocks are inserted through the ring and the prongs engage the poultry legs so as to hold the hocks in juxtaposition.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,735,736 to Volk discloses a retainer for poultry hocks that is formed as an oblong ring of a thin unitary plastic. The ring has a plurality of prong portions extending inward. The poultry hocks are inserted through the ring and the prongs engage the poultry legs so as to hold the legs substantially perpendicular to the retainer and parallel to each other.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,749,778 to Volk discloses a retainer for poultry hocks that is formed as a ring of a thin unitary plastic material. The ring has hinged flaps extending inward from opposite sides thereof. The poultry hocks are inserted through the ring to cause the flaps to bend outward and then to partially retract backward so that the edges of the flaps engage behind the hock knuckles, holding the thighs close to the body of the fowl. Preferably, either the ring or the flaps are cut away to increase the length of the hinge area.
The present invention is directed towards providing a retainer generally for trussing poultry carcasses and specifically for fitting about the hocks so as to hold the legs proximal to each other. The present invention also is directed towards a relatively simple device that can be manufactured simply and inexpensively, and easily is mounted on and dismounted from the hocks automatically by machine or manually by personpower. The present invention further is directed towards a hock retainer that has less interaction or contact with packaging materials.
Briefly described, the present invention is a device for retaining and trussing the hocks of poultry carcass in juxtaposition and proximal to the body during processing, packaging, shipping, storage, and/or cooking. The present invention is a unitary, plate-like member of resilient material comprising two generally C-shaped members for fitting about and retaining the hocks. As the generally C-shaped members are located proximally to each other and about an axis of symmetry (the generally C-shaped members are mirror images of each other about the axis of symmetry), the general structure of the retainer also resembles a W- or M-shaped structure or, in certain embodiments, a crown- or upside down crown-shaped structure.
Each of the generally C-shaped members has two arcuate arms that define a receiving cavity with an entrance slot. The receiving cavities provide means to retain a single hock of a leg of a poultry carcass. As each of two receiving cavities can be mounted on or engage a single hock of a leg of a poultry carcass and as the receiving cavities are proximal, the engagement of the two hocks of the legs of the poultry carcass by the retainer retain the hocks of a single poultry carcass in juxtaposition proximal to each other.
The retainer can be mounted on the hocks by a single upward or downward motion of the retainer over the hocks. As the retainer is placed, or snapped, over the hock, the hock passes through the entrance slot and enters the receiving cavity of a retaining member of the retainer. To allow entrance to the respective receiving cavities, the arcuate arms of the generally C-shaped members can deflect and/or flex sideways and/or outward to allow the hock to enter the retainer. As the hock enters and becomes secured in the retaining members, the arcuate arms return to their originally positions, which effectively secures the hock in the retaining members. Because the generally C-shaped members are juxtaposed and the hocks of the poultry carcass are loaded into the C-shaped members, the loading of the hocks into the retainer conveniently juxtaposes the hocks proximal to each other.
The relatively simple mechanism for loading the retainer with the hocks of the poultry carcass can allow for efficient mounting by hand or by automation. Poultry processing workers use an upward or downward motion to the mount the retainer onto the hocks. Alternatively, as the retainer can have a generally plate-like configuration, which is an optimal shape to be fitted in an automated poultry-processing machine, the retainer can be incorporated efficiently into an automated process or operation. The retainer can have a slot for mounting onto a supply bar either for storing a number of the retainers or for feeding the retainers into an automated retainer-mounting machine. Further, as the present invention has a generally simple structure, the device can be manufactured relatively easily and inexpensively and can be mounted quickly and efficiently on the hocks with a single snapping motion.
These features, and other features and advantages of the present invention, will become more apparent to those of ordinary skill in the relevant art when the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments is read in conjunction with the appended drawings in which like reference numerals represent like components throughout the several views.